General Announcements: Dean Marchionini updated faculty and staff on DC events, which included an alumni gathering on Thursday, October 19th, which was very successful. He also discussed SILS having more of a presence at local conferences and perhaps having people available to staff tables for alumni, if people were available. SILS is also having a gathering in Nanjing on July 4th weekend, 2018, and there might be space for two students to go. If you are interested, please reach out and let us know! A quick update was also given on admissions for new students – there are 2 new PSM students, 20 new MSIS, 8 new MSLS, 4 deferred MS students, 35 new BSIS majors, and 17 new BSIS minors starting in the spring!
EPA Update: The EPA library is thankfully running smoothly this year – recent events have not had a significant impact on their services, and they are still providing resources and help to their patrons!
SILS IT Updates: SILS is thinking of redoing Manning 214 so that it can be used for more than just a meeting room.
Independent Study for Proposals: SILS discussed the INLS 781, Proposal, for the master’s program, and the idea of extending the proposal class, offering more credits for the proposal class, or offering independent studies for extended proposal work. SILS approved a motion to have the Master’s Committee take this on, get more data on the class and its effects, and possibly propose changes in one of those directions. In general, 781 and 992 is something that SILS is working through still.
Master’s Committee Course Number Change: INLS 490’s course number was changed to INLS 570.
GRE Waiver for PSM Degree Program: PSM launches in the spring, and there has been discussion over whether or not applications should have to take the GRE. SILS discussed asking the Graduate School for a waiver for students who already have Master’s degrees/advanced degrees, or possibly asking for a five-year trial period. SILS also briefly discussed the GRE requirement for the master’s program, and whether the GRE is a good indicator of academic research potential, which is a focus of SILS’ master’s program. SILS tentatively decided on asking for a five-year trial period, but this is something that will probably be discussed again.
If you have any questions about the all-staff meeting, please email Amelea Kim at ameleak@email.unc.edu!